Broadcasters comparing current athletes to players of the past probably happens during every single game.
But generally, announcers don’t evoke the names of controversial figures for such comparisons. Al Michaels apparently doesn’t care.
During Amazon Prime Video’s Black Friday NFL game between the Kansas City Chiefs and Las Vegas Raiders, Michaels decided to make a point about the Chiefs’ tight end duo of Travis Kelce and Noah Gray. Surprisingly, however, the legendary NFL broadcaster opted to compare the Chiefs’ second tight end to former New England Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez while he played alongside Rob Gronkowski.
Al Michaels drops a casual Aaron Hernandez comparison when talking about Chiefs TE Noah Gray pic.twitter.com/hbFkA4JlXR
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) November 29, 2024
“Mahomes, all the way to the end zone and incomplete. That time intended for Noah Gray. Talking about him, the other tight end. You know Kirk [Herbstreit], I’m thinking back to using the two tight ends, it reminds me of when Bill Belichick had [Rob] Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez. And he kind of changed everything, running the offense through those two guys about a decade ago.”
From a purely X’s and O’s standpoint, Michaels made a legitimate comparison. But bringing up a player with the history that Hernandez does should probably be avoided, if only to prevent viewers from being reminded of the horrible circumstances surrounding the former Patriot, who was found dead in his prison cell in 2017 where he was serving time for first-degree murder.
The line when it comes to such references is certainly pretty gray. An announcer comparing a current quarterback to Michael Vick, for instance, wouldn’t be met with any criticism. And rightfully so. Vick’s situation is completely different, and comparing a current player to him would simply evoke memories of his legendary runs and huge arm.
But somewhere along the line, it’s best to avoid controversial figures. Hernandez probably falls into that category.
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About Drew Lerner
Drew Lerner is a staff writer for Awful Announcing and an aspiring cable subscriber. He previously covered sports media for Sports Media Watch. Future beat writer for the Oasis reunion tour.